Engadget Reviews the Toshiba Thrive

Toshiba Thrive reviews continue to pop up around the blogosphere, and Engadget’s is the latest. It is one of the longest and most in depth reviews of the Thrive that I’ve seen, and it is well balanced. If you’re thinking about picking up a Thrive, you owe it to yourself to read through this review. The conclusions are a qualified positive, while acknowledging the Thrive isn’t for everyone. Just a sample:

Inevitably, whenever a new tablet comes out, we find ourselves asking, “Why would you choose this over everything else?” And to be honest, in a marketplace with so many forgettable options it’s not always an easy question to answer. In the case of the Thrive, at least, you’ve potentially got enough built-in reasons to count on both hands. It’s got full-sized USB and HDMI ports, not to mention an SDXC slot allowing you to make good use of one of the memory cards you’ve no doubt accumulated over the years. It comes with lots of useful apps — some of which cost money — which means if you’ll be up and running immediately (and so will any low-tech person you give this to as a gift). It runs Android 3.1 at a time when most tabs don’t. Oh, and it’s priced to sell. It starts at $429 for 8GB, making it stand out in a market that absolutely does not need another $500 or $600 slate. We say, get the 8GB version, pair it with an old SD card, and have yourself a party.

So if the features unique to the Thrive are useful to you, it isn’t a bad choice. But if not, there are slimmer, sleeker tablets with longer battery life that are probably better choices. Read the full review for all of the facts.

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